We know that positive self-talk can be a powerful tool for building confidence and motivation. But sometimes, it’s hard to know how to get started, what positive things you should say about yourself, or even how long these affirmations should be.
This post will explore the power of positive self-talk and give you tools for incorporating it into your life!
- Positive Self-Talk for Moms
- Today Is Going To Be a Great Day
- What Is Positive Self-Talk?
- Benefits of Positive Self-Talk
- How Positive Self-Talk Can Be Used To Motivate Yourself and Improve Your Mood
- Tools for Positive Self-Talk
- Negative Self-Talk vs. Positive Self-Talk
- What Is an Affirmation?
- Set Positive Affirmations in the Present Tense
- Examples of Positive Affirmations That You Could Say About Yourself
- How To Neutralize Negative Self-Talk
- Final Word: The Power of Positive Self-Talk
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Positive Self-Talk for Moms
If you’re a mom, you know it can be tough to balance everything. You want to be the best mom possible and still have time for yourself. But sometimes it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day. I get it!
I wrote this post to give you some proven strategies to help you remember how amazing you are, even if the baby is crying and you didn’t get much sleep last night.
Learning this skill will help you, your children, and your family because our self-talk is contagious.
Today Is Going To Be a Great Day
I recently read a book about the power of changing your habits. The author challenged readers to start doing one small thing every day that he’d been practicing for years. What was it?
He said when you wake up in the morning, and as soon as your feet hit the floor, declare out loud, “today is going to be a great day!”
It sounds cheesy, but that’s it. I’ve been doing it ever since and have been surprised at how much this simple practice improves the rest of my day.
Improving your self-talk is about changing your mindset.
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This practice isn’t about pretending your life is perfect or that you don’t have problems. The author even said that during a difficult time in his life, he would sometimes say, “today is going to be a great day…somehow.”
So, as you can see, it’s all about how we talk to ourselves. Not in denial, but definitely genuine and honest about the hurdles we’re facing.
Making a choice to believe that our day will go well, even while dealing with a difficult situation, is quite powerful.
Let’s have a look at what positive self-talk and affirmations are, why they might be beneficial in keeping you optimistic and energized no matter what life throws at you, and how to get started!
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What Is Positive Self-Talk?
Self-talk is the voice in your head that says things you don’t always say out loud. We’re often oblivious to this background noise, yet our self-talk may greatly influence how we feel about ourselves.
The positive and negative messages we tell ourselves can greatly influence our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
Positive self-talk includes optimistic statements about yourself to support the thinking and actions you want to reinforce.
It’s a way to speak to yourself that is kind and encouraging, particularly during tough times. And it’s a great way to improve your mood and energy levels.
One study, done on a group of athletes found that positive self-talk was the greatest predictor of success.
A positive attitude can help you develop a more optimistic viewpoint on life, in which you focus not only on what’s wrong but also on what’s right.
You’re not always aware of what’s going on in your thoughts when you subconsciously talk to yourself.
You might think things like, “I’m a loser; I can’t do anything right,” or other self-destructive thoughts.
However, these types of negative self-talk are unhelpful. It’s nearly impossible to be upbeat when concentrating only on the bad things.
Learning to improve our self-talk may be beneficial in a variety of ways…
Benefits of Positive Self-Talk
Adopting an optimistic outlook and using positive self-talk, for example, has several advantages, including:
- Greater life satisfaction
- Improved heart health
- Reduced stress levels
- Less body pain
- Reduced mortality risk
- Improved immunity
- Improved physical health
How Positive Self-Talk Can Be Used To Motivate Yourself and Improve Your Mood
For example, you might tell yourself, “I am capable,” when you’ve reached an important goal, like being patient when your child has a temper tantrum.
Effective positive self-talk is specific and personal.
It’s also energizing. Try it when you need an extra boost of good feelings or energy to accomplish a difficult task, such as showing up well for your family when you’ve had little sleep.
You can also use this strategy to regulate yourself in times of stress or negative emotions, like during a difficult situation at home or work.
Positive self-talk might be used to combat bad thoughts or emotions, such as before taking an important exam when you’re nervous. When you’re feeling nervous before taking a big test, self-talk may help assure you that you’ve studied a lot for this test and that everything will be OK, even if you don’t feel so at the moment.
Uplifting affirmations can improve your outlook on life by increasing positive emotions like:
- Optimism
- Hope
- Gratitude
- Joy
and decreasing negative emotions like:
- Anger
- Fear
- Guilt
Tools for Positive Self-Talk
Below, I’ve gathered a few simple tips to help you use positive self-talk in your life.
- Post positive affirmations on your mirror or sticky notes around your home
- Pin positive quotes to the wall in places where you’ll see them often
- Write positive words on post-it notes that are easy to carry with you
- Stop ‘shoulding’ on yourself. What I mean is to avoid telling yourself you ‘should’ do that, you ‘must’ get this done, or you ‘have to’ do this to be a great mom because these types of statements are not helpful. Plus, these types of words can make us feel guilty and anxious.
- Perfection is the enemy of progress. So instead of pressuring yourself to be perfect, work on learning, growing, and developing your full potential.
My favorite book on improving your self-talk is What To Say When You Talk To Yourself.
Negative Self-Talk vs. Positive Self-Talk
Negative Self-Talk
According to one study, speaking badly to yourself can negatively impact your mental health.
These consequences include:
- Increased anxiety
- Depression
- Inflammation
Negative self-talk is also known as ‘self-criticism.’
This type of talk includes negative thoughts about your appearance, abilities, intelligence, and personality.
Positive Self-Talk
Positive self-talk is good for your mental health and consists of positive thoughts about your:
- Abilities
- Intelligence
- Personality
- Present situation or past accomplishments
It may appear to be difficult at first to change your thinking habits, but with practice, it gets easier.
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What Is an Affirmation?
Affirmations are statements that you can use to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging beliefs. You may start to make positive changes if you keep repeating them.
Affirmations are free of negativity. They’re statements that are believed to be beneficial in terms of boosting your confidence and motivation.
Affirmations can help you change your mindset and achieve your goals. But they aren’t a magic bullet. It will take some time for these things to have an impact, but they can be effective.
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Set Positive Affirmations in the Present Tense
It’s more effective (and powerful) to start positive affirmations with ‘I am’ statements instead of “I have been” or “I will be” statements.
This is because when you start with ‘I am’ you are describing what is already true about yourself.
You’re focusing on the present.
For example, if your positive affirmation is “I am happy,” saying things like “I will be happy in the future” isn’t as beneficial.
To make them the most powerful, create your hopeful affirmations in the present tense.
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Examples of Positive Affirmations That You Could Say About Yourself
- I am strong.
- I am kind to myself every day.
- My challenges help me grow.
- I get better every single day.
- I’m healthy.
- I love my smile.
- Today is going to be a great day.
- I am enough.
- I’m keeping myself healthy with good food and exercise.
- I accept who I am.
- I can remain calm even when I’m irritated.
- Today I choose to be confident.
- I have courage and confidence.
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Tips on How Long These Positive Affirmations Should Be
I’ve discovered that reciting positive affirmations regularly throughout the day has helped me improve my outlook on life.
Saying these affirmations in the morning, around noon, and before bedtime works well for many people. If you’re a mom, you could do this when making breakfast, lunch, and dinner for your kids.
Regularly practicing them might help you establish new healthy habits.
But what if those negative ideas start to enter your mind?
How To Neutralize Negative Self-Talk
Here are some tips to minimize negative self-talk.
- Become more aware of self-critical thoughts so you can prevent them from taking on a life of their own.
- Keep in mind that your thoughts and feelings aren’t always accurate.
- Change the intensity of negative self-talk. For example, ‘I hate doing this’ becomes ‘I dislike it’ and ‘I’m a terrible person’ becomes ‘I made a mistake and I will use it as an opportunity to learn and do better next time.’
- Make a mental note of something good you’ve said to yourself and repeat it.
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Final Word: The Power of Positive Self-Talk
The power of positive self-talk is undeniable. Whether you’re trying to motivate yourself, improve your mood, or take action towards some goal—positive self-talk has the ability to help with all those things and more!
Today we explored what exactly it is and how you can start using it in your own life.
What are some affirmations that work for you? Share below!
